Pageia Obscura: You just missed Hendrix!

One of the more shocking facts about Jimmy Page is for something he didn't do rather for something he did. Despite being a huge part of the London music scene in the mid to late 1960's, Jimmy never once saw or even spoke to Jimi Hendrix.

Hendrix at the Marquee Club in London

It is a startling fact really when you think on it. For all the time two of the greatest rock guitarist of all time lived in the same city, hung out with the same people, played the same clubs, and toured the same cities in America, they never once crossed paths in any meaningful way. Jimmy was asked about this phenomenon after Hendrix's passing and the breakup of Led Zeppelin:

      "No. And I never saw him play, either. This is a good story actually,
      back in the late sixties, I went right from working with The Yardbirds,
      to touring and recording with Zeppelin, and that kept me very busy. In
      the first two years of any band, you just work solidly; if you're going
      to make an impression that's what you have to do. We were no different.
      In fact, we probably worked for three years straight. Anyway, every time
      I came back from tour and Hendrix was playing somewhere, I would always
      say to my self, "Oh I'm just so exhausted, ill see him next time".

      I just put it off and of course, there ultimately never was a next time.
      I'm really, really upset with myself for never seeing him. I really
      wanted to hear him.

      Now, did I ever meet him? I did actually go into a club in New York
      called Salvation, and he was there, but he was totally out of it. He
      didn't really know who anybody was -- he was barely conscious. Somebody
      was just kind of holding him up. It is just kind of a shame that I never
      really had a chance to talk with him or hear him... I heard his records,
      naturally, but it would've been a thrill to see how he worked things out
      on stage. That's quite another ballgame, as you know."

Hendrix recording at Jimmy's studio home Olympic Sound Studios

When Hendrix arrived in London, his raw ability stunned the entrenched white boy guitar gods that

were tearing up the charts all around the world. One person he didn't stun was Jimmy Page who wasn't

present to see the "Wild Man From Borneo" himself, which is a shame if you think about it.